Quogue board spares historic Jessup Manor from demolition, for now, by luxury developer

A Quogue board on Friday rejected plans to demolish the historic Jessup Manor after an emotional hearing in which historians and residents urged saving a key East End link to Black and Indigenous history.

During a public hearing before the vote, residents from the village and across the South Fork said the structure carries historical significance for Quogue and Long Island's Black and Indigenous communities. A standing-room-only crowd erupted in applause after each speaker pleaded for the board to save it.

In a unanimous vote, the village's Design Review Board voted to deny the application from a luxury home developer to demolish the structure.

The board determined the demolition “will have a detrimental impact on the character of the neighborhood and the Quogue Historic District,” reduce nearby property values and “adversely affect the general welfare of the area and the entire community of the village,” according to the resolution read by board member Paula Prentis.

Allan Hyman, an attorney for the developer and partner with the East Meadow law firm of Certilman Balin, told Newsday the plan is to appeal the decision to the village's board of trustees.

"Reasonable people can disagree, and we understand the decision taken by the residents. On the other hand, we have a private property right," which includes redeveloping the property, Hyman said in an interview.

Custom homebuilder Nick Messina of Summerhouse Builders is in contract to purchase Jessup Manor from its owners, which is contingent on demolishing the structure to make way for a new luxury home, officials have said.

Mark Knox, who owns Jessup Manor with family members, said in a text message that he understands the denial but expects village officials to offer “good faith, viable solutions" to resolve the situation.

According to the Quogue Historical Society, the home was built in 1899 by Abram Edwin Enos, a Black Civil War veteran whose family had deep roots in the village dating back to the 19th century. Enos’ wife, Mary Nancy Lee, was a member of the Shinnecock Nation and part of a family prominent in the region’s whaling industry, according to the historical society.

Serena Lee, a member of the Shinnecock Nation and descendant of Mary Nancy Lee, said Jessup Manor was a “sanctuary” for people without money and power in the Hamptons. Allowing it to be demolished, she said, would amount to erasing Quogue’s history.

“Just imagine one of your ancestors' houses being destroyed, your history being erased. That's what's happening,” Serena Lee said. “You're erasing the people that were the foundation that your ancestors stood on to have this wealth, to have this peace, to have this sanctuary that we live on called Long Island.”

Jessup Manor later became known as Shinnecock Arms, a boarding house and summer hotel that provided lodging for Black travelers during segregation. The property was listed in the Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide that identified safe accommodations for Black Americans during the Jim Crow era.

George Motz, a former Quogue mayor, said "tearing down that house is a mortal sin in anyone's mind."

“It's probably the most unique house in the village right now, as far as its history — no question about it,” he said.

Historians have described the building as one of the last remaining physical links to Quogue’s once-thriving Black community, which developed in the mid-1800s and has declined in recent decades. They also noted the home’s architectural significance as a rare example of Victorian-era boarding house design in the village.

The proposal to demolish the structure prompted a letter-writing campaign and calls from preservation advocates to acquire the home and convert it into a museum.